


Auntie Carol

by felpereBRanco



Series: One Shots [4]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Danvers family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27978183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felpereBRanco/pseuds/felpereBRanco
Summary: It was midnight. A fifteen years old Alex stared at Kara's face seriously over the single candle they were using as light so Mom wouldn't figure out they were still awake. Kara frowned, confused."Eliza has a sister?" She whisper-yelled in disbelief. Alex nodded, seriously. "Why haven't we heard of her?" The Teenage Kryptonian asked. Alex looked at the bed with a mournful look."Mom doesn't like talking about her," Alex murmured. "I think she died before I was born." Because that's the only hypothesis that made sense, Alex thought.  Why Mom didn't want to talk about it, why she never had an aunt visiting on Christmas, why all the pictures were hidden in the attic."Oh," Kara murmured sadly. Alex frowned, realizing Kara probably knew what Mom felt like. "I understand." She said honestly, "What do we do about it, though?" Alex shrugged, just as lost."I don't know..." A sigh. "Just... don't push her for answers. I don't wanna make Mom cry.""Me neither."Or, a Supergirl / Captain Marvel AU
Relationships: Eliza Danvers/Jeremiah Danvers
Series: One Shots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858066
Comments: 14
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

Eliza had always been a private person, even before Kara was adopted, before all the secrecy and the worry over the girl’s identity. She was famous around the office because everyone knew they could talk to her without fearing the ‘deets’ getting out afterward, and most times people didn’t even realize she had been arguing with Jeremiah or any of her friends until long after they made up. 

Honestly, that’s probably why Clark felt so sure about letting them adopt Kara. 

For the most part, that aspect of her personality was one of her greatest strengths. People trusted her, and that often meant becoming close friends was easier to her. But still, there were nights that she realized the downside of that, of keeping things to herself so much she accidentally ended up walling herself off. 

The first time she realized this was the day after Alex's 15th birthday. Kara had been with them only for a few months now and Eliza was more than aware Alex was finally starting to warm up to the younger girl. She was still very, abrasive, sometimes, but Eliza caught her reading bedtime stories to Kara more than once in the past week.

It was midnight then, Eliza had been working at the computer in total darkness when she heard the door open quietly. She assumed it was Jeremiah, at first, before she remembered that he was still working at the DEO

“Mom?” Alex called out hesitantly, stepping into the room without bothering to turn on the light. Eliza felt her lips curve into a fond smile, looking at her teenage daughter. Her smile froze when her eyes landed on the picture Alex held.

“Hi, Alex.” She murmured, eyes fixed on the photograph. “Where did you find this?” She asked quietly. 

“I was looking at the stuff in the attic.” She murmured, before handing the picture. “Who is this girl?” Her daughter asked. 

Eliza didn’t reply immediately, taking the time to look at the image of two girls laughing over a messy kitchen, flour coating everything in a white blanket. It took her a few seconds to recognize her own face, so young then, with dark hair that didn’t even reach past her ears and a nose piercing she kind of regretted. God, what was she thinking? The punk look didn’t agree with her at all, she mused. But more important than that, her fingers ghosted over a younger girl with blonde hair, not unlike Kara’s with a grin on her face. 

“That… That was my sister.” She murmured, after a long pause. Alex frowned, fiddling with her hands as she avoided her gaze. 

“I have an aunt?” Her daughter asked in disbelief. Eliza pursed her lips but nodded, offering the picture back. “Why- Why didn’t you ever tell me?” She asked, and Eliza sighed. 

“It’s...complicated.” She answered. “I… haven’t seen her in decades.” Eliza shrugged, before looking back at her computer pointedly and changing the subject. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed? It’s a school night.” She asked after all. After a second of indecision, she added, “You know you gotta wake up early to help your sister get ready for school, Alex.” Her daughter’s face closed off, and Eliza sighed. Alex was still uncomfortable with the girl then, she assumed. 

Eliza stayed awake long after Alex left, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the computer. She… she never tried to hide it, exactly. She didn’t mean to erase her sister. They had their disagreements, and Eliza respected her decisions, but they still loved each other. She never realized that by avoiding airing out their arguments, she ended up cutting her off from Alex. 

A week after that, after long nights having existential crises and pondering on the subject, Eliza promised herself she wouldn’t let that happen again. She forced herself to tell Alex at least one thing about herself every day, forced herself to learn how to share. 

It was morning, Eliza cooked breakfast in the kitchen as Alex walked in as she always did, half awake and fully unresponsive. She grabbed the cereal and ate it plain as she always did, and Eliza reminded herself of her decision. 

“Y’know, your aunt used to eat cereal like that too.” She commented. Alex’s eyes widened, turning to her with a confused frown before she shrugged.

“Huh.” Alex hummed, blinking blankly at her before going back to her food. “Cool.” And that was that. 

A month later, Alex won the local soccer championship.

“Your aunt was very into sports too.” She commented, starting to feel a sense of nostalgia whenever she talked about her. “She’d be proud of you.” And Alex beamed at her. 

“Y’know, your aunt also got in her fair share of scraps because of me too.” She murmured over the hug as Alex cried on her shoulder. They had just left the principal’s office and a red-haired girl watched them with jealousy as blood flowed out of her nose. “I’m not exactly happy you did it, but I’m proud of you for protecting your sister, Alex.” She said. 

And eventually, even Kara started paying attention too, eagerly awaiting a new day to hear more about her aunt. 

“She was just as kind as you are, Kara,” Eliza said with a warm smile. “She always helped her friends whenever she could.” She chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Unfortunately, her idea of help often involved fistfights.” Surprisingly, they didn’t pressure her. They didn’t blurt out hundreds of questions or overwhelmed her, but Eliza could tell both of them had started loving hearing about her. 

“Do you think she would’ve liked me?” Kara asked, suddenly. She was almost eighteen now. Alex had long since moved out of the house, doing gods know what and going to parties every weekend. Having Jeremiah’s death confirmed had thrown all of them out of balance. Eliza sighed, before offering her daughter a hug. 

“She would definitely love you, Kara.” She said. “Honestly, I would be more worried about the inverse: She can be quite abrasive when she wants to.” Kara smiled, but Eliza could tell she wasn’t feeling it.

“I think Aunt Astra would’ve liked you too.” She replied eventually, and Eliza felt her heart melt into a bittersweet smile. 

Alex appeared on her doorsteps a year later, months after the last ignored message that Eliza bothered sending. She was wearing tight clothes in black, with short hair that fell over her shoulders and a serious, if the slightly regretful look on her face that made Eliza worried. What happened to her girl? 

They talked, apologized. Alex told her she moved to National City, told her about working in a science lab and going to AA meetings. Eliza cried, and apologized for not trying more. For shutting down after her husband’s death, for- They hugged and forgave each other. 

“You never told me her name, you know?” Alex said, sitting on the couch in front of her, a can of soda in her hands. They’ve been talking for hours now, slowly catching up to everything they missed in each other’s lives and although Eliza could tell Alex had lied to her at some parts, she didn’t dare push yet. 

“What?” She asked, confused. Alex stuttered, losing her confidence all of the sudden. 

“Uhm, my aunt.” Eliza blinked slowly with a frown, looking back on all the things she said about her sister. 

“Oh.” She hadn’t realized. Eliza felt like she should have apologized, but she didn’t feel like it, so they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. 

“It’s Carol.” She told Alex, a few moments later “My sister’s name is Carol.” Alex nodded, pensive, and thanked her quietly.

The next time Alex showed up at her doorsteps like that, there was a man at her side. Eliza felt her face pale when she saw him, recognizing him as the man that forced Jeremiah to work for the DEO, who threatened to expose Kara. Alex interrupted her, telling her that this was a shapeshifting martian. That she worked for the DEO. That the government was after Kara, _Supergirl_ , because of the Red Kryptonite, that Alex broke Hensh- J’onn out of prison, and now the FBI was after them.

Eliza didn’t know how to react, didn’t know how to protect her daughter from something of this magnitude, so she did the only thing she could. She walked to her room and grabbed an old pager she kept at her bedside table before giving it to Alex. 

Eliza had never dared to use it before, she didn’t know if her sister had told her it was for emergencies only. But this? This certainly was an emergency, and if it meant keeping Alex safe, she’d happily drag her sister from whatever corner of the galaxy she was hiding to help. 

“This is for emergencies only.” She repeated Carol’s words, thrusting the pager into Alex’s hands. “I know you can take care of yourself, but if something happens, I want you to press that button, ok?” Alex didn’t understand her, Eliza wasn’t surprised, but she knew Alex would do it. She’d call for help, eventually. 

And Eliza knew Carol Danvers would come running to save her, when the time is right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three Months Later... 
> 
> Carol woke up with a start. The floating debris of a Thanagarian fleet floated around her as she was slowly dragged along the planet's orbit. She frowned, flaring her powers, and looked around, feeling as if she was missing something important. Nothing was out of place, she thought, before noticing a beeping light being emitted from one of her pockets, the one she kept closed at all times. 
> 
> Slowly, she grabbed the beeping device and brought it to her face, seeing her symbol flashing on the screen of the pager. Eliza? She asked herself. Her sister had pressed the emergency button of the pager that she gave her. Eliza had never bothered texting her a message, never sent a simple hi, and now she was calling her back? 
> 
> Carol sighed, pushing her frustrations away and flaring the solar energy around her body. A second later, she shot into the unknown, her silhouette becoming nothing more than a line being traced in the darkness of space. It didn't matter, anyway. Eliza was in danger. 
> 
> And Carol would lay waste to whoever hurt her sister.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carol directed all of her power to her hands, shooting herself through space as fast as she could. It was unfortunate that she had been so far away when Eliza called. She continued on, feeling her arms burn with the power flowing through her veins as she drew as much of her energy as her body could handle, feeling herself approaching the brink of exhaustion. 
> 
> She had to get to Earth, fast. Because Eliza was there, Eliza had asked for her help, called for the first time in decades for an emergency Carol had no way of knowing how urgent it was. And she couldn't even bear the idea that she'd get there too late. That she'd find a broken house and Liz dying on the floor, that she'd get there just in time to see her sister fall, or be killed, or, or…
> 
> Carol pushed on, flying through the empty space faster than she had ever flown before. 

Alex checked the pager again, frowning as the thing continued beeping as it had for the last six hours. She sighed, pocketing it back and looking around at the bar, noting the few DEO agents that managed to escape the onslaught. 

"Uhh, Alex!" She heard Winn yell from behind his computer screen "I think we've got a problem!" She frowned, pursing her lips as she appeared behind him, watching over his shoulder at the ultraviolet images on the screen, a bright light moving along the corner at a fast pace toward… Earth? 

"What is that?" She demanded. Winn shrugged.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's massive. Energy-wise. Just what it's putting out per second is enough to power the entire planet for fifty generations, so I doubt it's the Daxamites."

"Can you make contact with it?" Alex asked, more to fill the stunned silence than of any actual desire for an answer. Winn blinked, turning to look at her as if she was crazy. 

"Can I- Are you kidding me? For all we know it's the second coming of the big bang in the shape of an oversized meteor. How the hell do you want me to make contact with it?" Alex shrugged, feeling self-conscious for a second before she shrugged it off. 

"Guys," Maggie interrupted them, pointing at the screen in worry. "It's here." What? Alex turned, looking at the screen just in time to see the light approaching the United States, the west corner, National City, heading right toward-

The ceiling exploded, wood raining down on them as the agents around her yelled. Less than a second later something hit the ground, a wave of energy exploding all around her and pushing her to the wall. Shards of glass and wood nicked her face and shirt, covering her in a painful but thin layer of debris. Still dazed, Alex opened her eyes slightly, seeing a blond woman, slightly older than her, rise from her knees with blueish waves of energy flowing to her fists. The woman approached her, allowing Alex's eyes to be drawn to her bright costume, a familiar palette of red and blue covering her body.

"Kara?" She murmured confusedly as the woman grabbed a fistful of her shirt and slammed her high in the wall. 

"I'm only going to ask this once." She warned Alex in a tense tone, clearly pissed off. "Where. Is. Eliza?" She demanded. Alex frowned, still trying to make sense of the out of the blue mention when the woman vanished from her sight, her grip slacking and letting Alex fall to the ground with a painful thud. 

"Get away from her!" Kara yelled, having slammed in the woman at superspeed. The bar's wall didn't hold against the woman's body, but it stopped her from bouncing on the sidewalk and flying away. 

The woman rose to her feet slowly, raising an eyebrow in interest with an arrogant smirk to her face. "Well," She tried to say, but Alex had recovered enough to pull her pistol and empty the clip into her head. Kara at her side blinked, watching the bullets melt before even touching her skin. 

"Nice try." The woman quipped, the energy waves gathering in greater strength around her body. 

"Who are you?" Kara demanded, lighting her own eyes in response. The woman shook her head, clenching her fists hard. 

"It doesn't matter." She said dismissively, looking around at the other agents crawling to their feet in annoyance. "You have something of mine there." She accused, looking at Alex straight in the eyes as she nodded toward the belt. "And if I find out you touched a single hair of my sister to get it, I'm going to break you." She roared, the light bouncing off her face, creating an ominous shadow over her eyes. 

"We didn't hurt anyone!" Kara argued back, raising slightly in the air. Alex frowned, paying attention to the woman's face, the contour of her nose, the fullness of her cheeks, and realization hit her. 

"You're Carol." She whispered in shock, ignoring how crazy the idea sounded. Quickly, her hands moved to her belt, desperately trying to open the pocket until she managed to grab the pager and hold it in the air. "Is this what you're looking for?" She asked, loudly this time. The woman, Carol Danvers, turned to her curiously, eyes sticking to the pager with intensity. She nodded. 

"And Eliza… You're talking about Eliza Danvers, right?" Alex asked, slowly feeling confidence grow. The woman nodded again pointedly, meeting her eyes. Alex paused, ignoring her sister's disbelief spluttering, and took a step forward with the pager held out toward her aunt. 

"What, no! Alex, that's imposs-"

"My mother gave me this." She said, paying attention to the way Carol's eyes widened. To the way, her guard fell at the revelation. "She told me to use it only in case of emergency." She continued, puzzle pieces fitting together in her mind to reveal the final secret of the family. She had a feeling those were Carol's words that Eliza had repeated to her. "That she knew I could take care of myself, but that if I ever needed help, all I had to do was press that button." The way Carol reacted, recoiling backward in frightened surprise only confirmed it. 

"Who- Who was your mother?" Carol asked reluctantly, a rough voice that seemed almost afraid of confirming her own suspicions. Alex smiled, gently, and gave her a second to come to terms with it, taking the time to compare her own face to her aunt's. She didn't have her cheekbones, the rounded chin, but she could see the resemblance in the nose.

"My name is Alex Danvers." She said. Kara was looking between Alex and Carol wildly, unable to pick one of them to stare at. "Eliza's my mother." She clarified. Carol's face fell, the beginnings of grief appearing on her face, and Alex rushed to explain.

"She's still alive." She said. Carol's eyes snapped to her from the ground, and Alex had a feeling she had her full attention. "She still lives in Midvale too." Carol frowned but didn't answer. 

"Aun- Uhm, Carol?" Kara spoke quietly. "How come you still look young?" Carol sighed, looking at the ground with a shrug. 

"I don't… age the same way anymore. What's your name?" She asked.

"It's Kara, uhm, ma'am." Alex could almost see the insecurities and doubts popping up in Kara's head. "Eliza adopted me when I was younger." Carol nodded, before looking at the Daxamite ship with a sigh. 

"Look, I gotta go take care of this. We can… talk, later. If you want to." Her aunt told them, before looking around at the bar with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry about attacking you. I, uh, thought the Daxamites had Eliza." Her energy coiled around her body, but before she could fly off, Kara stopped her. 

"Wait! One of my friends is still on the Daxamite ship. She's human!" She told Carol. "Please…" She didn't need to ask. Her aunt nodded thoughtfully. 

"I'll save them." She said, blasting herself into the sky. Alex and Kara watched her fly off, headed directly toward the mothership faster than Kara ever managed, a trail of light being left in her wake. From behind Alex, Winn's head slowly popped up from the table he had been cowering behind, looking at the bright lines curiously. 

"Does that mean we don't need to ask for Lillian Luthor's help anymore?" He asked hesitantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cat raised herself from the ground, sweeping the dust off her shoulders with a disgusted frown before her gaze landed on the empty space where the newest superhero had been a second ago. 
> 
> _Carol, hm._ The Danvers certainly seemed like an interesting family. 
> 
> She smiled, closing her eyes as she pictured the stern costume, the sleek golden lines that called forth an elegance that even Supergirl couldn't hope to match with her boy scout girl-next-door charisma. Hm, yes the Danvers were certainly very interesting indeed. 
> 
> "What are you waiting around for?" She snapped at a DEO agent at her side once she opened her eyes again. "Go get me some coffee. Chop chop!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhea cursed, watching that blasted woman head straight toward the ship as if her entire fleet were nothing but ants. Captain Marvel, she thought in rage, oh how she hated that woman. The so-called hero, the strongest person in the entire universe, flying around helping rabble as if they were deserving of her blessing.   
> Where was she when Krypton destroyed Daxam's atmosphere? Where was she when Rhea was lost amongst the stars, floating around aimlessly, unable to find a new home or even her own son?  
> "What do we do, Ma'am?" Her general asked at her side. She frowned.  
> "Kill her!"

Carol blasted her way through the energy shielding at Mach 2, superheating a hole in the hull with her powers and slowing down briskly as she gently lowered herself into the ship's hallway.

Eliza, she couldn't stop thinking. Eliza Danvers, her  _ sister _ , married. Her  _ children _ were standing right there moments ago. Carol wasn't blind to the passage of time. She knew it's been years since they last spoke but… somehow it didn't feel like it. She hadn't aged much since she got her powers decades ago. There were little imperfections now, the little things from the countless battles she participated in appearing and fading over her skin until her powers healed all of it again, and it didn't help that the only people she interacted with regularly were Skrulls. Shapeshifters, people who also lived up to two hundred years easily. She knew it's been decades since the last time she saw Eliza, but she long since stopped being aware of how much time that actually meant. 

There weren't many guards anymore, after the initial wave. Thirty or so royal guards saw fit to line themselves up in the hallway so she could blast them all away in a single shot, and, after stepping over the groaning bodies, she was alone again. Carol sighed. 

Alex. Kara. Her thoughts circled. Her sister had married already. Had given birth, had raised a daughter all the way through and Carol couldn't stop herself from asking what else she had missed. Space had been a big adventure, it always was if you knew where to look, but something in the back of her head kept expecting to come back to Earth one day and see Liz, her teen sister she spent two-thirds of her life fighting with. To crawl out of that wardrobe and find everything unchanged, the world frozen, just waiting for her. 

Carol hadn't been into a Daxamite ship before. She didn't know the layout, couldn't even imagine where they would keep two human prisoners, so she simply started opening doors at random. Popping her head in and asking in English if anyone had seen a human around. The news must have spread quickly throughout the ship, because after the first few minutes the guards stopped trying to shoot at her. Some of them even replied, even if it was to surrender or beg for mercy. Carol shook herself out of her thoughts long enough to feel amused by it and continued on her way. 

It wasn't just the fact that Eliza had changed. Carol didn't feel so much  _ loss _ just because Liz grew up without her, but because Carol  _ didn't _ . She spent decades in space, but if she stopped jumping from crisis to crisis for even a second, she was still the same girl that got near-infinite powers in a flight test gone wrong and rage quit so hard she ended up on the other side of the galaxy. She was still brute-ish. In fact, fighting, being the unstoppable monster she was known for, was the only way she knew how to solve problems. Eliza grew up, and Carol didn't change. She just got worse. 

She spun, fists raised in alarm at the sound of running feet, but found herself face to face with a pretty Daxamite in an impractical dress. The woman's face brightened at her presence, throwing herself into a hug as soon as she got close enough and Carol froze. It was all she could do to resist the instinct of blasting the girl away from her. 

"Kara!" She said, and Carol's frown vanished. Well, that name was familiar. The girl started touching at different parts of her costume before slowly untangling herself and looking up in mortified confusion. 

"You're… not Kara." She stated, sounding absolutely lost. Carol smiled, gently, and shook her head. 

"No, I'm Carol." There was a pause, a missed beat where both of them stared at each other in silence before the girl frowned. 

"You… changed your suit?" She asked, eyes fixed on Mar-vell's star. Carol wondered how old was the girl to still think of her with that black bodysuit and a golden S that she used to wear ages ago, but Carol simply assumed fangirls were universal. She shrugged, nodding.

"I felt like rebranding." She quipped with a light smirk, unwilling to talk about the actual reason for the newer, more colorful costume. The girl nodded before her face started to redden

"I… I am  _ so  _ sorry for that, I was so sure that Kara was...well, you." Huh. She blinked, so she was a human then? Kara's friend? 

"Must be the family resemblance." She commented with a smirk. "You're Kara's friend then?" She asked. Lena nodded, her confused look doubling for a second before melting into determination. Carol offered her an open palm. 

"Kara asked me to save you. C'mon, I'll bring you to her before finishing this off." Lena took it, hesitantly, and jolted in surprise when Carol dragged her into a half hug, holding her waist tightly, and started falling, shooting concentrated blasts to the ground to make it melt as they approached while also making the energy flow through her arms and around Lena to protect her from the worst of it. Seconds later they were free-falling in the open sky. Carol slowed down their fall, tugging at the bottomless pit inside her to force the laws of physics into compliance. 

She accelerated, careful to shield the girl from the wind so she didn't get friction burn. 

"I don't remember this being one of your powers!" The girl yelled in her ear. Carol frowned, sure that the comment made absolutely no sense, but she wasn't in a position to argue. They landed near the destroyed bar, Carol set the girl back onto the ground carefully and managed to see Kara running out of the bar in jeans and a shirt for a few seconds before she flew up again, heading back toward the Mothership. 

She paused suddenly a few feet away from the bridge, managing to break her speed almost instantaneously. She deployed the helmet, letting the advanced tech shape itself around her head and bunch up her blonde hair into a mohawk and, with the helmet on, she hailed the ship. The face of what she assumed to be the queen regent of Daxamite filled her vision, a stern gaze aimed directly at her. 

"I am-" Decades. She knew exactly how this would go. 

"It doesn't really matter. Do you know who I am?" She cut her off quickly, trying to unbalance the queen, who frowned but nodded thoughtfully. 

"You are Captain Marvel." She answered correctly. "I've heard of you, of course. Limitless powers and you chain yourself to-"

"Look, let me cut to the chase," Carol told her bluntly, a small part of her still finding herself amused by the poleaxed expression on the Regent's face. "I'm not joining you. I'm not working for you. Earth is now under my protection, and you can either gather your troops and limp your way to another planet or I'll take down this ship and arrest whoever's left. What's your choice?" She didn’t bother saying anything beyond that, crossing her arms and glaring decisively through the window as the Queen made her choice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliza sighed, turning on the news. She made coffee, mindlessly listening to the newscaster when the program was interrupted. She turned, a frown on her face, and the mug dropped to the ground.   
> _Carol?_


End file.
